CINCINNATI -- In case you wondered, David Weathers has noticed the booing. And he can take it.
"None of that has really ever bothered me," Weathers said on Thursday. "I've been booed out of Yankee Stadium."

The Reds' reliever was lustily booed by the home crowd of over 34,000 on Wednesday night after he gave up an eighth-inning run and two hits in a 7-2 Reds win. With 12 earned runs and 18 hits allowed this month, Weathers entered Thursday with an 11.57 ERA for June.

"I was booing myself," Weathers said. "They're just voicing their displeasure with how I'm throwing the ball. The sad part about it is if they got inside my head, they're not even the tip of the iceberg of how I feel. I'm a self-motivator."

Since leaving a June 11 appearance with right shoulder tendinitis and taking five days off, Weathers has only pitched in four games. Over those 3 1/3 innings, the 36-year-old has allowed six earned runs -- including four during a 1/3 of an inning vs. the Mets at Shea Stadium on June 20.

It's a dicey situation. Weathers' track record indicates he needs a lot of innings to be successful. But he hasn't been effective enough lately to get those opportunities.

"I can't give them to myself," said Weathers, who is 2-2 with a 5.50 ERA in 32 games this season. "To me, that's the Catch-22. To pitch better, you have to pitch more. To pitch more, you have to pitch well enough that somebody wants you out there again.

"It's hard to complain, because we're a game and a half back and leading the Wild Card. We're winning. That's the most important thing. I'm not a trouble-maker."

Reds manager Jerry Narron was supportive of Weathers.

"We just need to get him out there get some regular work (I'm gonna add this in, this plan seemed to backfire tonight)," Narron said. "He'll be fine. We've got to have him. We have to have David Weathers pitch well for us."

Weathers, who has only retired 17-of-32 (53 percent) first batters faced, hasn't been the only reliever struggling for Cincinnati. The bullpen's 5.11 ERA this season ranks 15th out of 16 National League clubs. Fellow veterans Kent Mercker and Chris Hammond have also endured bumpy outings lately.

"When the three of us get it together, we can put up some zeroes in a hurry and a lot of them," Weathers said. "No doubt in my mind. All three of us have been in that stretch run many times. That's as important as stuff."

Oh wait, it gets better. Claussen is coming back! yay!

Claussen update: Coming off throwing 45 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday in a test of his injured throwing arm, Brandon Claussen reported feeling good on Thursday.

"Everything is going good. I feel good," said Claussen, who is on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left rotator cuff. "It's really hard to tell in the bullpen. Once the hitters get in there, I'll be able to tell a little more. I'll get the heart and blood flowing a little bit and see if I can get extra life on the ball."

Claussen remained on track to face hitters in live batting practice and throw around 70 pitches on Saturday. Since being diagnosed with his injury, he received a cortisone injection to relieve the discomfort. An MRI exam taken recently confirmed no other issues.

:bang:

TeamBoone

06-29-2006, 11:39 PM

I'm glad Claussen is coming back. He pitched well for awhile... hopefully he's got it going again.... though I must admit, he wasn't gone long.

oneupper

06-30-2006, 12:18 AM

Once he's off the DL, send Claussen out for a LONG rehab.

harangatang

06-30-2006, 12:21 AM

I'm glad Claussen is coming back. He pitched well for awhile... hopefully he's got it going again.... though I must admit, he wasn't gone long.Man he had a severe case of tendinitis ;)

KronoRed

06-30-2006, 01:14 AM

More work?

:help:

TeamBoone

06-30-2006, 12:00 PM

I've been through this... those shots hurt, but they do the trick.

COMING ON - Brandon Claussen went a week without picking up a baseball after being diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis and placed on the disabled list.

"Seven days, three shots, a lot of ice," is how he put it Thursday.

One of those shots was Novocain, to prepare his shoulder for the cortisone shot that followed. The third was to prepare for an MRI, which revealed only the expected fraying around the rotator cuff - common in most pitchers.

Claussen returned to the mound Wednesday and felt fine in a 45-pitch bullpen session. He'll crank up to 70 pitches Saturday, probably throwing to hitters for the first time. That's a benchmark the left-hander is looking forward to.

"It's really hard to tell in the bullpen," he said. "Once a hitter gets in there, I'll be able to tell a little more. Get the heart and blood flowing a little bit, see if you've got extra life on the ball. And then seeing how it responds the next day will really be my answer."
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060630/SPT05/606300321/1027